1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc drive used as an auxiliary memory device for a computer, and in particular, to an actuator loading/unloading device for a disc drive which can fly an optical or magnetic head on a disc for recording/reproducing information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, among the disc drives for recording/reproducing information, a hard disc drive is used as an auxiliary memory device for a personal computer. As is publicly known, the hard disc drive utilizes a magnetic recording principle of recording/reproducing wanted information by moving a magnetic head in a radial direction of a disc coated with a magnetic material. Hard disc drives now require increased memory capacity and miniaturization, and thus employ an optical recording/reproducing method, instead of the magnetic recording method.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a general hard disc drive 11 in a state where its upper cover (not shown) is opened. Referring to FIG. 1, a ring magnetic disc 10 is mounted on a rotation shaft 110 of a spindle motor (not shown) disposed on a base 100, so that the magnetic disc 10 can be rotated at a high speed. An actuator 130 having a magnetic head (h) at its end portion is provided near the disc 10, so that the actuator 130 can be rotated around a pivot shaft (p) due to the driving of a voice coil motor 120. Accordingly, the actuator 130 flies the magnetic head (h) along a signal surface track (not shown) of the disc 10, thereby reproducing data recorded on the disc 10 or recording new data thereon.
The actuator 130 includes a swing arm 131 connected to the pivot shaft (p), and a plate-spring type suspension 132 disposed at the swing arm 131. The magnetic head (h) is provided to an end portion of the suspension 132.
The magnetic head (h) is floated on the disc 10 at a predetermined height due to an air flow generated by high speed rotation of the disc 10 during the driving of the hard disc drive 11. Here, the magnetic head (h) is moved on the disc 10 by moving the actuator 130 inwardly to the disc 10. When the disc 10 is stopped, the magnetic head (h) is parked on an actuator loading/unloading device 200 by moving the actuator 130 outwardly from the disc 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the actuator loading/unloading device 200 includes a tap 133 downwardly protruded at the end portion of the actuator 130, and a ramp member 210 where the tap 133 is slid. The ramp member 210 has a gradually-sloped surface from an entrance direction of the tap 133. At an entrance end portion of the ramp member 210, the actuator 130 is substantially parallel to the disc 10. However, the tap 133 is moved along the sloped surface of the ramp member 210 during the unloading of the actuator 130, and thus the suspension 132 is vertically displaced. Therefore, the conventional actuator loading/unloading device 200 for the hard disc drive 11 cannot be employed in a compact structure where the actuator 130 can be completely escaped from the disc 10.
This is especially true when the optical recording/reproducing method is used instead of the magnetic recording device, because various optical units are provided to the actuator 130, thus increasing a volume of the actuator 130. Accordingly, the actuator 130 cannot be completely escaped from the disc 10 during the unloading operation. In addition, when the tap 133 is positioned on the ramp member 210 during the unloading of the actuator 130, the head (h) may contact the disc 10 due to an external vibration or impact, thereby damaging the disc 10.